Since purchasing TBD the end of February, I’ve been able to make two trips to Maryland. First was just to assess my surroundings and get my bearings. It was overwhelming, but I did make progress in updating some of the electronics and bring things more up-to-date with current technologies.
Second trip was an extension of the first, where I installed a new battery charger (old one was inoperable), a more current solar controller, and I did some minor rigging. TBD has an in-mast roller furler for the main sail. I’ve never had this luxury before and I’ve discovered there is going to be a learning curve. I rearranged some lines, replace some broken clutches, and basically got the boat ready to float. I also found the bilge pump was wired incorrectly, which would’ve been a real problem. And, someone wired in the propane switch onto the bilge circuit, which is an interesting choice, but not the end of the world. I still need to figure out how to make the refrigerator work, and the head will need to be in the water to operate. The yard has notified me they have the prop shaft back in (I had them replace the packing gland and a few other engine items) and I’m ready to go. I’m finishing up work and will be heading down there next week, with the hopes of splashing TBD for the first time (for me)!
A few things I’ll be adding in: A new Garmin AIS 800, so we’ll be broadcasting to other local vessels and (where available) Marine Traffic, so you’ll be able to see where TBD’s location, even if I don’t have internet and NoForeignLand isn’t receiving. I have a new Radar, which will get installed at a later time. I also have a new dingy. The old one was from the last two boats and has seen better days, so it was sent to its finally resting place. The new one will be here Friday.
Plan is “TBD”, but a rough idea is to splash in the next couple of weeks and berth the boat in the Baltimore area (closer to a airport), while I return home to work for a couple weeks. Then, fly down, meet a friend, and set sail up the Chesapeake Bay, down the Delaware Bay, and up the New Jersey shore to New York Harbor. You gotta have an idea of a destination to have a journey, so there it is. The rest is TBD!